The invention relates to a food additive, in particular for food products such as dressings, mayonnaises, spreads and other products hang a reduced fat content. The invention further relates to a process for preparing the food additive and to its use in the preparation of food products.
The use of modified starch as a food additive is for example known from EP 0 149 258, which relates to the use of hydrolyzed starch as partial fat- and/or oil-replacement in foodstuff.
EP 0 486 936 describes the use of a enzymatically debranched starch as a replacement for fat.
EP 0 372 184 relates to enzymatically debranched starch which is capable of forming a thermally reversible gel, a high strength gel, a stable, opaque cloud, or a lubricating, fat-like texture in an aqueous dispersion. It is shown in Examples 6 and 10 of EP 0 372 184 that no stable opaque product is obtained if an hydrolyzed starch is debranched.
A disadvantage of preparing modified starches by way of debranching only is that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to carry out such a preparation in an economic attractive manner (i.e. at high solids content), while still obtaining a product having the desired qualities. At high solids contests, the modification reaction leads to a product which has unfavorable handling properties.
EP 0 846 704 discloses a highly fermentable resistant starch which is obtained by thinning a starch and enzymatically debranching the thinned starch, wherein retrogradation occurs during debranching. It is unclear to what degree that debranching is carried out.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for providing a food additive based upon a starch. It has been found that it is possible to prepare a food additive with particular properties by hydrolyzing and debranching a starch in a particular way. It has been found that a method according to the present invention allows the preparation of a food additive suitable for use as a whitener and/or a fat/protein substitute, depending on the manner in which the method is carried out.